Anna (2019 film)
| writer = Luc Besson | starring = | music = Eric Serra | cinematography = Thierry Arbogast | editing = Julien Rey | studio = | distributor = | released = | runtime = 118 minutes | country = France | language = English | budget = $30 million | gross = $23.9 million }} Anna (stylized as ANИA) is a 2019 English-language French action thriller film written, produced and directed by Luc Besson. The film stars Sasha Luss as the eponymous assassin, alongside Luke Evans, Cillian Murphy, Helen Mirren and Alexander Petrov (in his debut English-language role). The film was theatrically released in the United States on 21 June 2019 by Summit Entertainment and on 10 July 2019 by Pathé in France. It received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed $23 million worldwide. Plot Anna, a beautiful woman who has been the victim of domestic abuse, sees no point in continuing her life. In a turning point of her life, she reluctantly accepts an offer by KGB officer Alex. After a year of training, she is to work as a KGB assassin for five years, after which she will be free to continue her life as she pleases. KGB head Vassiliev is not willing to honor this agreement, implying that the only way out of the KGB is death. She goes undercover as a fashion model and is hired to work in Paris. At the same time she completes various missions and assassinations. When she is found out by the CIA, they recruit her to kill Vassiliev, in exchange for the promise of immediate retirement and a protected life in Hawaii. Meanwhile, Olga, her KGB handler, who earlier had reluctantly confirmed Anna as an operative, notices changes in Anna and confronts her. Olga agrees that Anna should kill Vassiliev, which would make Olga the new KGB head. After she completes her mission to kill Vassiliev, Anna meets both Alex and her CIA handler. Olga stages shooting Anna for her betrayal to the KGB. Anna, who is unharmed, escapes through a sewer line, changes her appearance, and finally becomes free. Cast Production On 9 October 2017, it was reported that Luc Besson's next film would be Anna, starring newcomer Sasha Luss, along with Helen Mirren, Luke Evans, and Cillian Murphy. EuropaCorp produced the film while Lionsgate handled the distribution under their Summit Entertainment label. Principal photography on the film began in early November 2017. Release The film was released in the United States on 21 June 2019. Reception Box office , Anna has grossed $7.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $16.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $23.9 million. In the United States and Canada, the film opened alongside Child's Play and Toy Story 4, and was expected to gross $2–4 million from 2,150 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $1.4 million on its first day, including $325,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $3.5 million, finishing 11th at the box office. Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 24% based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 4.56/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Anna finds writer-director Luc Besson squarely in his wheelhouse, but fans of this variety of stylized action have seen it all done before -- and better." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 40 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an overall positive score of 81% (with an average 4 out of 5 stars). Peter Debruge of Variety wrote "Anna shows that Besson is the same filmmaker now that he was 20 years ago, and unlike his title character, who lithely adapts to whatever situation she's in, he's been telling roughly the same story over and over all this time." David Fear of Rolling Stone wrote: "This kind of Cold War-a-go-go, deadly-honeypot intrigue is harder to do well than you might think — just ask the folks behind "Red Sparrow." So you appreciate it when someone like Besson can make it move like a pro. And despite constantly playing fast and loose with the chronology ..., he delivers a sleek, largely efficient mechanism of adrenaline-soaked déjà vu." References External links * * Category:2010s action thriller films Category:French action thriller films Category:Cold War films Category:Films directed by Luc Besson Category:Films produced by Luc Besson Category:Films set in 1985 Category:Films set in 1987 Category:Films set in 1990 Category:EuropaCorp films Category:French LGBT-related films Category:Girls with guns films Category:English-language French films Category:Screenplays by Luc Besson